Public Invited to Forums July 24-25 to Help Define Scope of Services for New Northern Regional Center

7/20/2006

Service providers and members of nonprofit organizations, along with the public, are invited to attend community forums next week on the Northern Regional Center (NRC). Wake County officials are seeking input from members of the Wake Forest and Rolesville communities to help guide the scope of services that will be offered through the new center in Wake Forest.

The first forum will be held Monday, July 24, at New Bethel Baptist Church, Rolesville, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Anyone who provides physical health, mental health, environmental or social services in the public or private sector is invited to attend. This also includes members of the faith community. Dinner will be served. Participants must register by calling 818-6476.

The second forum is open to the general public and will be Tuesday, July 25, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., at the Wake Forest Library, 400 Holding Ave., Wake Forest. Call 554-8498 to register. The Northern Regional Center will be built on land adjacent to the library and is scheduled to open in late 2007. A groundbreaking is slated for this November.

In addition to planning for the NRC, participants at each forum will be asked to complete Wake County's 2006 Community Assessment Survey. Every four years the State of North Carolina asks local health departments to conduct a community needs assessment to determine how to target prevention and intervention efforts and resources. For Wake County, the 2006 assessment goes beyond physical health to include mental, economic and environmental health concerns as well as safety and lifelong learning. The survey is available online through July 31 at www.wakegov.com.

"We hope the public will participate in both the planning for the NRC and in our Community Assessment," said Maria F. Spaulding, executive director of Wake County Human Services. "We're very proud of the positive impact the Southern and Eastern regional centers have had by taking access to County services to outlying communities. This is a vision the Board of Commissioners had more than 10 years ago that continues to help better meet the needs of Wake County residents."

The Southern Regional Center in Fuquay-Varina opened in 1996 and the Eastern Regional Center in Zebulon opened in 2002. Wake County did an extensive study to determine the location of the next regional center, selecting the Wake Forest and Rolesville area based on growth and need. The County is studying the effectiveness of opening a fourth regional center in the future so residents don't have to travel to Raleigh to access services.

back to current news items